Nicklaus Chooses 'Greatest Open Course'

Ahead of golf's Open Championship at St Andrews, STV is to broadcast an exclusive interview with one of the game's all-time greatest players, Jack Nicklaus.

The three-time Open Champion chooses his favourite 18 holes across the nine Open Championship courses, in a documentary narrated by Scots actor, Dougray Scott.

Nicklaus made his Open debut in 1962, at Troon, and bid farewell at St Andrews five years ago.

The programme is being broadcast on Wednesday, at 9pm.

Said Nicklaus: “At this stage of the game, I can tell you that there are not many things I haven’t covered or questions I haven’t answered throughout my career as it relates to golf. That’s what made this so interesting for me. When the idea first came up, I said, ‘Well, now there’s something I’ve never done before.’ So it was fun for me, not only to reflect on the Open rota of courses I love so much, but because it was a bit of a challenge.

“I can’t tell you how hard it was not to include some of my favourite holes - 18 are just not enough. So I had to roll up my sleeves, study all of the course guides and hole photos again, and then determine just the right mix of 3s, 4s and 5s. And it took me three or four attempts before I was satisfied with the right combination of holes. It wasn’t easy, but it was a lot of fun for me, and I think the STV viewers will enjoy the show.”